Adding a video game element to stroke rehab

Lou Petti is playing softball again - and video games helped him do it. Since working with a device called the Hand Mentor Pro, Petti - a stroke survivor - has mostly recovered the use of his right arm.

The physical therapy tool was developed by Tempe-based Kinetic Muscles, or KMI, to help stroke patients regain movement of their hands and wrists. The device is "completely changing the thinking about rehabilitation," said Grant Farrell, KMI's CEO. That's mostly because it turns tedious therapy into something people can cheer about, he said.

To use the Hand Mentor, patients strap a robotic arm on top of their own and use the attached computer to pick a game. As the hand and wrist go up and down, the computer is recording the movement. It's also recording the high score as patients dodge planes while controlling a hot air balloon or help a cartoon muscle man lift weights above his head.

The technology is based on neuroplasticity - or the ability of the brain to rewire itself. By extensively repeating the same motion, the brain restores pathways that control motor skills, Farrell said.The Hand Mentor was born because conventional stroke therapy didn't offer enough repetition to reach maximum recovery, he said.

Though the device was officially released in December 2007, Petti, 65, has been using it for about a year.

He and wife, Cindy Petti, first heard of the device through the Phoenix-based rehab center, Southwest Advanced Neurological Rehabilitation LLC.

The rehab center was part of a two-year marketing trial in which an original Hand Mentor model was given to clinics and hospitals so they could provide feedback and suggestions for improvement.Most insurance companies will cover the cost of therapy using the $4,800 machine as long as it takes place in a clinic and not at home, said Sue Stringer, business manager of Columbia Scientific LLC, the Tucson-based firm in charge of KMI's sales.

The problem with insurance coverage is that it limits the number of hours a patient can undergo therapy, said Farrell. That's why the company is developing a home unit, which should be complete by the beginning of 2009, he said. The unit will likely be rented on a month-to-month basis, since the time patients need it can vary from six months to several years, Farrell said.

There are about eight products in the KMI pipeline, including a foot device and another that works the entire upper body. The products have been funded in part by National Institute of Health grants that total around $5 million, Farrell said.The NIH is focused on stroke rehabilitation because health care costs for stroke survivors are estimated at $65 billion a year. Providing therapy that gives more complete recovery will lower those costs while giving patients more independence, he said.

Developing the products to provide that independence makes KMI part of a rapidly growing industry. The U.S. medical device market brought in $75.57 billion in 2006, according to a report by the industry research group Frost & Sullivan.

The market is expected to rise to $139 billion by 2013, said the report, released in March.